Ascent of Anvil Rock on 2014-04-26

Ascent Trip Report

Greg, Edward, and I were preparing for our upcoming Fairweather expedition by getting out for a big skin/ski day. We carried heavier loads to get a good workout and practice skiing with a full pack. We had no intentions of climbing Rainier, instead focusing on skinning up to Camp Muir with packs. We ended up discussing Anvil Rock instead as it is on the Mt Rainier 100 Peaks list. Edward was feeling a bit fatigued around 9,000 ft, so Greg headed down with him and I continued the last 500 ft to Anvil Rock. I had to remove my skis to climb the last 10 feet up the summit rock, which overlooks a very precipitous drop on to the Cowlitz Glacier. While on the summit of Anvil Rock I heard a very loud crashing sound, very likely from collapsing ice seracs. Even better than the physical workout was the fact that it was windy, blowing snow everywhere, and a near complete whiteout. Great conditions to practice navigation. It also made for a painfully slow ski down until I broke through the clouds around 7,500 ft. I checked my GPS continually on the way down to ensure that I did't ski down the Nisqually or Cowlitz glaciers. There were times when I could not see the ground in front of my skis, but I did not fall at all.

Also, of note, other peakbagger users have littered this area with bullshit peaks for every bump on the mountain. I will not log these junk bumps even though I went over one or two. Besides, anvil is not really a peak either!

*GPX track notes: My GPS gave me a few funky readings and may not have been exactly spot on with my exact location. On the way down I used it to keep on track and hit a point where I knew I had stood before, but it was off by a hundred feet or so. It also gave me a maximum speed of 40mph. I'm a good skier, but I doubt I hit 40mph. Eh, whatever...

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

4184 ft / 1276 m

Route:

From Paradise

Trailhead:

5400 ft / 1645 m

Route Conditions:

Snow Climb

Gear Used:

Skis, Ski Poles

GPS Data for Ascent/Trip

GPS Waypoints - Hover or click to see name and lat/longPeaks: climbed and unclimbed by James BarlowClick Here for a Full Screen MapNote: GPS Tracks may not be accurate, and may not show the best route. Do not follow this route blindly. Conditions change frequently. Use of a GPS unit in the outdoors, even with a pre-loaded track, is no substitute for experience and good judgment. Peakbagger.com accepts NO responsibility or liability from use of this data.